


Googly Eyes and a Heart-Shaped Lollipop

by mddnapstablook



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Non-Despair (Dangan Ronpa), M/M, also references to angie and junko and makoto and kyoko but that's irrelevant, oh and kiibo duh but he's also irrelevant, shuichi is a convenience store clerk and kokichi keeps coming in and buying weird shit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-15
Updated: 2019-02-15
Packaged: 2019-10-29 02:55:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,478
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17799809
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mddnapstablook/pseuds/mddnapstablook
Summary: Shuichi really needs to stop covering Kaede's shifts.





	Googly Eyes and a Heart-Shaped Lollipop

Shuichi stifles a yawn as he rings up a customer, and manages to hide his frown when his “have a good night!” is met with a glare. Customers always seemed so much ruder during the night shift. Ruder and weirder, he thinks as a man with purple hair enters the shop, sucking on a lollipop. 

Shuichi waves at him when they meet each other’s eyes and the man grins brightly back at him before picking up a shopping basket and skipping down an aisle. When he’s out of sight, Shuichi allows himself the moment to slump against the counter, sighing. This was absolutely the last time he’d be covering a night shift for Kaede, her pretty smile be damned. He couldn’t keep pulling these all-nighters if he wanted to actually pass his criminology class. 

He’d had sympathy for her the first few times she’d asked to switch shifts, the professors at the university they were attending were infamous for being difficult about rescheduling test dates and the like. He hadn’t even thought about it before he had offered to cover for her. Now though, as his eyes begin to droop again, he’s wishing Kaede had asked someone else to help her out. 

A clatter from one of the aisles pulls Shuichi from his thoughts, and he straightens up as he waits to hear anything else. There’s a laugh, almost equine in nature, and then nothing again. Shuichi supposes he should probably check on that customer, but he really isn’t being paid enough to care. He taps his fingers along the counter as he listens in silence to the tinny music of the store radio playing over the intercom. 

It isn’t long before the man finishes his shopping and makes his way to the single open line: Shuichi’s. Himiko is supposed to be around here somewhere, but Shuichi suspects she’s napping in the break room. Again. 

The man starts unloading his basket, so Shuichi gets ready to ring him up. “Did you find everything okay?” he asks politely as he scans the first item, a bottle of nail polish remover. 

“Yup! Though, for a convenience store, the way you guys set everything out is a little inconvenient. Probably shouldn’t stack baby food into a pyramid, you know. Especially those easily shattered jars. One wrong step and someone could send the whole thing crashing to the ground!”

Shuichi nods and scans a box of cake mix. “Right. Maybe I’ll talk to my manager about it.” Then, Shuichi pauses. “Did you-? If you break anything you’ll need to pay for it.”

The man gasps and throws a hand over his chest. “How dare you accuse me of such a thing! I’ll have you know I have been on my _best_ behavior since I got here! I am a paying customer, and I do not deserve this kind of disrespect!”

Shuichi cringes. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to accuse you-”

“Buuuut, that’s a lie! I broke, like, three jars. Sorry!” 

Shuichi sighs and scans the last item. “It’s fine, I’ll just add it to your total. They’re only a hundred yen each, anyway.” After he scans the last thing, though, his eyes catch on what it actually is: a ‘Sorry for your Loss’ card. Put together with the other two items, it seems a little… odd. Not that Shuichi hasn’t seen weirder before, and it’s really none of his business what the customers buy, but he does frown minutely at the implications. 

He taps away at the computer to add the price of the baby food, and then he reads the man back his total as he bags up his few items. 

The man sticks his tongue out a bit as he digs into his pants pocket to produce a worn out checkerboard patterned wallet, which he pulls a few crumpled up yen out of. “Here you go!” he says as he plops the money on the counter, inches away from Shuichi’s outstretched hand. It’s his number one pet peeve at work, but he smiles anyway and picks the money up to place it in the cash register. 

“Would you like a receipt?” Shuichi asks as he plucks it up from where it’s just been printed out. 

The man leans in close and winks. “Only if you put your phone number at the bottom!”

Shuichi splutters. “What?” The only response he gets is another three winks. “No!”

“Awe, man,” The customer snaps his fingers like he’s just been thwarted from a dastardly plan. “Well, no receipt then! See you later, Shuichi!”

And then the man grabs his bag and takes off out the door into the night, door chime ringing behind him. Shuichi looks down at his nametag, where his name is written in bright pink bubbly letters, courtesy of Kaede herself. Frowning, he takes the opportunity afforded by no customers to go wake Himiko up so he can take his own break. He needs a few moments to recover from that particularly strange encounter.

-

“Come on, Shuichi, please? Pretty please?”

Shuichi reluctantly closes the book he’d been reading to meet Kaede’s puppy dog eyes. “Kaede, I’m exhausted. Can’t you find someone else to cover for you?” 

“I tried! I know you’re super tired and way too overworked as it is, but no one else will take the night shift. And it’s really important to Angie that I go to her art exhibit. Can you please just cover my shift this one last time? I swear I’ll never ask again.” she says, hands clasped together. “I’ll make it up to you! I’ll… I can play you a song? Or let you copy my psychology notes? Orrrr… get you a date with Kyoko Kirigiri?” 

Shuichi shakes his head. “No, it’s fine, you don’t have to do anything. I’ll cover for you,” and the resulting shriek of happiness makes him smile, even if it hurts his ears a bit. “But this is the last time, okay? You’ll have to get someone else to cover you if you end up needing it again.”

Kaede nods, hair bobbing with the movement. “You won’t regret it! And I promise I’ll never ask you to cover again.”

Shuichi doubts that. 

-

It’s incredible that Himiko can actually fall asleep while standing up. Shuichi gapes at her as she snoozes peacefully on her feet, the line before her backed up by at least four people. Shuichi opens a second line and clears his throat, getting the customers’ attention. They all move over to his line without a second glance at Himiko. 

When he’s rung them all up and the last one exits, Shuichi runs a hand through his hair, dislodging the hat he has to wear with his uniform. He adjusts it back on his head and sighs. What’s the point of giving Shuichi a coworker if she’s just going to sleep through her whole shift? Part of him thinks he should tell his manager about the continued lack of work, but Junko had told him on his first day that she always reviews the security footage the next morning, so surely she knows already. (And if she already knew, Shuichi was glad to not have to hold a conversation with her. She was so… much.)

Regardless, he misses his day shifts. No weirdos, just sweet old ladies that occasionally mistook him for a girl and would pinch his cheeks as they paid entirely in coins. Not to mention his daytime coworker Kiibo was _actually_ helpful, and didn’t just sit around. Or, stand around sleeping, he supposes, as the case may be. 

His thoughts are interrupted by the door chiming, and when he glances over, he sees the purple haired guy has returned. He clicks his tongue. “Did Kaede quit or something? She always works nights!”

Shuichi blinks, not expecting to be talked to, and also not expecting this man to know Kaede. “Uh, no. I’m covering her shift for her, is all.”

The man hums in acknowledgment and grabs a basket before saluting and ducking down into an aisle. 

Texting during work is strictly forbidden, but Shuichi imagines sleeping is, too, and Himiko is doing just fine, so Shuichi pulls his phone from his pocket and shoots Kaede a quick text inquiring about the man. Her response is surprisingly quick, too. 

‘ _Awe, Kokichi asked about me? He’s just a regular who comes in a lot. Buys weird stuff to freak me out on purpose, you know? He’s a cutie_.’

Shuichi quirks his lips at that. It at least explains his last purchase, but that seems like a stupid amount of effort to go through, spending your own money on things you won’t use just to scare someone. Though, he reasons that the things he’d last bought weren’t so wild as purchases. The implication of them all together is uncomfortable, but separately, Shuichi can think of completely normal reasons to buy them, obviously. The items themselves aren’t particularly menacing after all. 

When the man- Kokichi, Shuichi reminds himself- finishes his shopping and starts setting his items on the conveyor belt, Shuichi is almost excited to see what he’s bought. His mild interest is replaced with a flush over his face as each item is scanned though: a bottle of hot sauce, a bottle of lubricant, and a box of condoms. 

“Will that be all for you today?” Shuichi asks, ducking his head and lowering his company mandated hat to hide his blush as best as possible. He taps away at the register and takes the money Kokichi offers from his hands directly this time, eyes catching on sparkly purple polish on Kokichi’s nails. 

“Is Kaede gonna be back anytime soon? No offense, but I feel that my purchases are wasted a little on you. You barely react at all!” Kokichi complains as he waves off the offer of a receipt and stuffs his change back into his wallet. 

Shuichi shrugs. “She says this is the last time I’ll have to cover for her, but we’ll see. Thank you for shopping, have a good night.” 

Kokichi giggles and blows Shuichi a kiss with the hand that isn’t clutching the bag holding his purchases. “See you later, Shuichi! Or not!”

Shuichi watches him leave, and when he’s gone, Himiko sniffles across the room and wakes up with a start. “Nyeh. I’m sleepy,” she mumbles as she rubs her eyes. “Have we had any customers?” 

“Yes,” Shuichi answers. 

“Oh,” she replies. “I think I’m gonna take my break now if that’s okay?”

Shuichi doesn’t reply verbally, just motions for her to head to the back room. They both knew this was how it was going to go. 

-

Before Kaede can even open her mouth, Shuichi cuts her off. “ _No_ , Kaede.”

“You don’t even know what I was going to ask!” she pouts, crossing her arms. “Maybe I was going to ask if you’re planning on going on a second date with that Makoto guy.”

“Then my answer is the same,” Shuichi replies as he finishes typing the last sentence to his essay on the judicial system. 

Kaede frowns and takes a bite of her muffin, crumbs falling onto the coffee shop table. “Why not? He’s so adorable! _And_ sweet, and you two seemed really into each other before the date. Did something happen?”

No, not really, but Shuichi couldn’t, in good conscience, go on a date with someone when his mind was elsewhere. Particularly, he couldn’t stop thinking about his weird late night encounters with Kokichi. They’d only seen each other twice, and it was unlikely they’d be running into each other again anytime soon, but still, he couldn’t keep his mind off of him. It was distracting, and annoying, and maybe Shuichi should just get over it and go out with Makoto again because he really does like him, but…

Shuichi sighs. He feels like he’s been doing that a lot lately. Kaede finishes her muffin and brushes the crumbs off the table and into her waiting palm, which she then also raises up to her mouth. “What?” she asks when she notices Shuichi watching her. “I’m not just gonna scrape it off onto the floor. That’s rude!”

“I didn’t say anything,” Shuichi says, leaning back in his seat and turning his attention back to his essay so he can proofread it a time or two. 

“Anyway, you didn’t answer my question. Did something happen on the date that makes you not want to go out with Makoto again?” 

“No, he was fine. I just… I don’t think we really connected, you know? Maybe I shouldn’t worry about dating for a while. I’m already tired enough trying to balance work and classes, and-” Shuichi narrows his eyes at the guilty expression that Kaede is wearing. “What is it?” he asks, sincerely wishing he didn’t have to. 

“Okay, I’m not asking you to cover my shift again, because I promised I wouldn’t,” she begins, and Shuichi is already dreading where this is going. “But maybe… could you trade schedules with me?” 

“Excuse me?” Shuichi deadpans. “You’re kidding, right? You know we _both_ have the same 8am psyche class, right? I can’t work nights every day, Kaede.”

“It’s not every day! It’s only a few times a week, and the rest is all days, okay? Please, this will solve both of our problems! I won’t have to have you cover for me all the time, and-”

“And I’ll have to pull an 8-hour shift by myself while Himiko sleeps the whole time,” Shuichi finishes, shaking his head. 

“No, no! That’s not true! Himiko got fired, actually! I don’t know who you’ll actually be working with. But anyone has gotta be better than her, right?” Kaede pleads. “Shuichi, you know I wouldn’t ask you unless I absolutely had to.”

God damn it. Shuichi knew he was too soft-hearted. “Alright, alright, fine. But you’re the one who is talking to Junko about it.”

“Already did! She agreed, as long as we both worked it out. I figured you’d say yes, so I told her you did already,” she laughs sheepishly. Shuichi shakes his head. 

-

Now that Shuichi is used to working nights, and with the help of his new coworker Maki, it isn’t really so bad. He’s had to adjust to his messed up sleep schedule, but he’ll live. He still gets uncomfortable when weirder customers show up in the dead of night, but he feels oddly safe when Maki gives them a death glare when they argue about price or whatever. 

The next time Kokichi comes in, he grins widely when he spots Shuichi, and makes his way over immediately, bypassing the stack of baskets by the door. “You’re here again! Did Kaede die or something? She’s never here anymore!” 

“We’ve officially traded schedules. She only works days now, I’m afraid.” 

Kokichi’s bottom lip wobbles, and then he’s full-on sobbing in the middle of the convenience store, and Shuichi has no idea what to do. His hands shoot up in a defensive posture, and he gently shushes Kokichi. “No, no, it’s okay! Don’t cry!”

“B-but, Kaede hates me! She never wants to see me again!”

“No, that’s wrong, she doesn’t hate you! She’s just-” a jerk that loves putting Shuichi in uncomfortable positions, Jesus. “She just has a lot of scheduling conflicts that make working nights hard for her. She’ll probably switch back once this semester is over.”

“Really?” Kokichi sniffles. Shuichi nods, and that’s apparently all it takes. Kokichi wipes the tears away and laughs. “Duh, of course! No one can resist my charms. She’ll be back in no time.” 

“Are you actually going to buy anything, or did you just come to harass my coworker?” Maki asks from where she’s kneeling on the ground restocking the snack aisle. 

“I came to make a legitimate purchase! I just wanted to talk to my beloved Shuichi for a minute is all,” Kokichi explains before walking over to the stack of baskets to snatch one off the top and trot away into an abandoned aisle. 

“Beloved…?” Shuichi mumbles to himself. Maki scoffs as she stands up and dusts off her knees. 

“Please tell me he’s not a regular,” Maki says, tone flat despite the pleading edge to the words. 

“Sorry,” Shuichi replies, smiling lightly as he watches Maki mime shooting herself with the price sticker gun. 

“I’m going to check the back for… I don’t know. Something. Let me know when he’s gone,” she says before turning around and heading for the storage room. Shuichi hums in agreement, content to handle Kokichi on his own. 

When Kokichi has finished shopping, he lines up his purchases on the conveyor belt and bounces on his toes as he waits for Shuichi to scan each item. Tonight, it’s a box of tissues, a bottle of cherry blossom scented hand lotion, and a coloring book based on a Disney film. Shuichi doesn’t even blink as he bags them up and tells Kokichi his total. 

“Oh, come on! That one was so good!” Kokichi protests, hands flying up in frustration. “You’re no fun,” he pouts, digging into his pocket for his wallet. 

“It just loses its shock value after the first few times, you know? Maybe you should try something different,” Shuichi suggests as he takes the money Kokichi hands him. 

“Something different, huh? Is that a challenge?” Kokichi asks, taking his change and his bag. Shuichi shrugs. “Okay! I think I can manage that!”

-

Shuichi doesn’t see Kokichi for his next three nighttime shifts, to Maki’s relief. He’s thirty minutes away from the end of his fourth when Kokichi finally shows up. Maki ducks into the back as soon as she spots him and Shuichi rolls his eyes fondly. 

“I haven’t seen you in a while,” Shuichi says as Kokichi grabs a basket. 

“Awe, did Shuichi miss me? I’ve been a little busy lately, but I’m here now!” he replies, the skirt he’s wearing fluttering around as he walks past Shuichi’s till to the arts and crafts aisle. Shuichi tears his eyes away from the strip of pale skin between the end of Kokichi’s skirt and the rainbow thigh highs he’s wearing. 

It’s with mild impatience that Shuichi watches the clock tick away the time until the end of his shift. He hopes Kokichi finishes his shopping before it’s over, because Maki will be staying an extra hour, and he doesn’t know how well she’d take having to ring him up. Luckily, Kokichi skips over to Shuichi’s line with a fairly empty basket. He places a clear, empty package for something on the belt, along with a package of lollipops. 

“What’s this?” Shuichi asks as he picks up the empty package. It’s, apparently, a package for googly eyes, but there’s none inside. 

“Nishishi, I took you up on your challenge and tried something different! It’s gonna take you forever to find where I put all those!” he says, giggling as Shuichi scans the empty bag and promptly tosses it into the trash can behind the till. Next is the candy, which he bags and hands over as he takes Kokichi’s money. 

“How will we know when I’ve found them all?” he asks. 

“I don’t know!” Kokichi replies. “Isn’t that part of the fun?”

At any rate, Shuichi’s shift is over, so he shrugs and takes off his hat. “Well, you made it before my shift ended. So, good job I guess.”

Kokichi’s interest seems piqued by that, and he raises a brow. “Oh, you’re done working, huh? So what is Shuichi going to do for the rest of his day?”

Shuichi casts a look out the door, taking in the morning light. “Sleep, probably,” he says as he steps outside, with Kokichi on his trail. “I’m really tired.”

“You can’t go to bed, yet! It’s morning!” Kokichi argues, circling around so that he’s stopped Shuichi in his tracks, blocking the way to his car. 

“Yes, and I’ve been up all night. Not to mention, I have a class in a few hours. I should really be getting to bed.” he explains unnecessarily. 

Kokichi swings his bag from one hand to the other. “You have to at least have breakfast first, you know! It’s bad to skip meals, Shuichi!”

Shuichi laughs and shakes his head. “Okay? Why do you care?”

At that, Kokichi frowns and looks away. “Well, it’s just that if Shuichi doesn’t eat he’ll starve and waste away and die! And then who will wait on me when I come in to buy plastic wrap and duct tape and vaseline? I don’t think your coworker likes me very much, for some weird reason.”

“I can’t imagine why,” Shuichi says. “Is this your way of asking me out?”

Kokichi flutters his lashes. “Maybe!” he draws the word out into a singing voice. Then he laughs again. “So? I’ll let you have one of my suckers!”

How could Shuichi say no?

**Author's Note:**

> this was so goddamn fun to write. kudos and comments are, as always, super duper appreciated, and thank u so much for reading!!


End file.
